West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-03-25

standard dictionaries are TO be used,
but all are to be, like all else in this
book, original with it. Ben Jonson, for
instance, proves q wondrous mine
never worked, for information as to
the use and meaning of English
words in the brilliant epoach in
which he lived.
THE WOMEN AT WORK.
AS the thousands Of words sent
out to the experts are returned to
the publishers with the new defini-
tions added and the new words in
cluded, the women who originally
scissored ont of the proof-sheets the
snowfall of clippings now copy the
work of the experts on type-writers
so as to have it in clean unmistaka-
BILE type, and then this is compared
word by word and all mistakes cor
rected. At the same time there are
pouring in upon the publishers and
experts the findings of new words
and new quotations, and these are
submitted to the experts and added
to their work, and revised by the
literary men who act as editors, in
never. ending rotation and re-rota-
tion. The first complete list of syn
onyms in the language is inciden-
tally being added. Then again,
there are words that cannot be de-
fined by words. Who can describe
an alligator so that one can see it
precisely in his minds eye-or what
words will convey a just idea of the
appearance of the periwinkle shell?
In all such cases pictures are used
to help in making the definition, and
after an expert has suggested the
picture he wants, and the art devel
opment has turned out the picture
it is sent to the expert and marked
approved" by him over his own
signature, or else he dlsapproves of
it and has it changed until it is cor
rect. And all the time, as in the
weaving of million threads into a
carpet pattern, the women who have
been clipping and type-writing are
kept busy rearranging ani putting
back into the old order what they at
first so diligently tore apart, SO that
the words will fall in alphabetical
order, each with its definition, its
quotation, its synonyms, its picture,
or whatever, in the proper place.
PHoToGRAPHINo THE COPY.
This constant accretion of i'm
measurably valuable MSS. brought
up q new problem. What if it should
burn? 1t never could be reproduced
exactly. Prof Whitney, for in
stance, would never undertake the
work again. Insurance would not
pay Tor it. OF course the bulk of
the sheets. rs they had been pre-
pared. were put in safe and safede-
posit vaults. but there soon came Il
time when they had to be taken, :,
thousand Or so at once, TO the print
ers, and they were in danger again.
Confronted by this problem, the
publishers hit upon Il new and ex.
traordinary device for protecting
their property. They caused each
sheet of finished copy to be photo
graphed in reduced size, and now
the safe deposit vaults hold thous-
ands of negatives no larger than
half the size of the old-fashioned
carte de risite, each representing a
page of the dictionary. These can
be enlarged back to the old size or
put in a magic lantern, thrown upon
a sheet, and copied over again, in
case the original Ms. is lost.
How does the old dictionary com
pare with the new? Look at John
son and his clerks scratching away
in q bedroom on the one hand, and
on the other q thousand homes in
stinct with the spirit of the modern
enterprise. Professors, novelists,
poets, civil engineers, doctors, law
yers, actors, astronomers, mechanics,
sailors, editors, in fact, ct least one
representative of every following in
science, art and industry are all toll
ing to contribute to compendium
of all the knowledge obtainaUle
about the words that form our Ian
guage. Carrying out their works
are scores of busy women, the pa
tient type-setters, the pressnen, the
artists, the photographers, the ster
eotype founders, the binders and
who can ,ell how many else? These
are what the men who are getting
up the latest dictionary foresaw, yet
they say it was only a feeble glance
ahead that they took. Among other
things they must copyright every
line, must obtain deeds of every
line supplied TO them, must satisfy
other publishers for every line they
borrow from American works, and
the last enterprise they undertook
was to write to all the missionary
stations all over the world for def
milton of all the foreign terms in use
in English and American literature.
In the light of this explanation Of
how a perfect dictiou .ry of our Ian
guage is being constructed, do2s aos
the old wish of the prophet. Would